Rice Bran Oil - is it really "The Healthy Oil"?
by Roger
Many people ask me – Is rice bran oil a good oil to cook with?
My
brief answer is Yes - but use it in small quantities, for roasting and frying.
Olive oil remains the best choice for regular use: dressings, dips, baking and moderate-temperature frying. We also use sesame oil, coconut oil and clarified butter for pan-frying and roasting.
What is rice bran oil?
It is the oil extracted from the germ and inner husk of whole
brown rice. Rice bran oil has a mild, nutty flavour. Promoters call it “The Healthy Oil” or “The Good Oil”. One label says rice bran oil is “nutritionally
balanced, versatile and with a pleasantly subtle taste – perfect for BBQs, frying,
baking and salad dressing”
Is this the all-in-one cooking oil solution?
Not exactly. Bulk polyunsaturated oils such as sunflower, safflower, canola and corn are dangerous to our health for various reasons - and should be completely avoided. Rice bran oil definitely has some advantages over other cooking oils. It is one of the better choices of all the bulk cooking oils available. However it should still be used sparingly, because it contains way too much omega-6 linoleic acid.
Problems with fats and oils
In modern Western countries most people eat too much fat. Fats and oils contain over twice the calories of similar weight of protein or carbohydrate. A low-calorie diet is one of the keys to avoiding cancer and many other diseases.
And there are also problems with
the type of fats we consume. We eat:
Too much saturated
animal fat, toxic "trans" fats and Omega-6 fatty acids.
Too little Omega 3 and fat-soluble antioxidants such
as vitamin E
Rice bran oil is better than other oils in many respects – but has a
seriously imbalanced ratio of omega-3 to omega-6.
Omega-6 : Omega -3 fatty acid balance.
Rice bran oil contains high amounts of omega-6 fatty
acids (linoleic acid) – and virtually no omega-3 (linolenic acid). Omega-3
and omega-6 compete for the same metabolic enzymes. Dietary imbalance creates all sorts of
problems to body processes, including a tendency towards
inflammation. This imbalance has been
implicated in higher rates of diabetes, cancer, heart disease, stroke,
arthritis and skin disorders.
Our food has changed
Our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate a diet of fresh, whole
plant and animal foods – including a lot of seafood. This provided a balance of omega-3 to omega-6
of about 1:1. This is what our bodies
are designed for, the result of hundreds of thousands of years of
evolution.
Nowadays we eat way less seafood and large amounts of
grains and seeds – most of it processed.
Since the 1960s when seed oils began to replace saturated fats our
intake of omega-6 has more than doubled – and omega-3 consumption is about 1/10
of what it should be. This has created a
dangerous imbalance.
The primary source of omega -6 fatty acids is vegetable
oils. The primary source of omega-3 is
seafood – although flaxseed oil is a notable exception. Dark leafy green plants, wild plants and
free-range eggs provide useful amounts too.
Optimum intake of omega-3 : omega-6 is generally agreed to be
higher than 1 : 4. This is because most of us already consume and
store an excess of omega-6.
Modern diets, high in seed oils, processed foods and low in seafood oils provide a ratio of about 1:14 or 1:20. it may be as high as 1:60 for some people. Excess omega-6 tends to be stored in body fat – while excess omega-3 is excreted.
The omega-3 : omega-6 ratio in rice bran oil is about 1:35. We are best to use it in moderation.
Advantages of rice bran oil
- High smoke point – doesn’t degrade easily at high temperature
- Has a long shelf life.
- Low viscosity (more runny) – need less oil to cook in and is less absorbed by foods. Balanced fatty acid composition - 43% of its fats monounsaturated, 33% polyunsaturated, and 24% saturated
- Virtually free of trans fats
- More Vitamin E complex and other anti-oxidants than other cooking oils- these help keep it stable and protect against free-radical damage.
- Rich in tocotrienols – powerful form of Vitamin E
- Contains a Gamma Oryzanol – a powerful antioxidant and cholesterol-lowering agent
Sounds great! Can I eat deep fried food then?
No! Of all the bulk cooking oils available, I think that rice
bran oil is one of the better choices for high temperature cooking. If you occasionally eat deep-fried food this
is perhaps the best option. However I do not recommend deep-fried food.
Any oil heated to high temperature will suffer some degradation and
produce dangerous free radicals. In addition to this deep fried
foods contain too much oil to be considered healthy.
Conclusion
It would be wonderful to find a bulk cooking oil that solved all our problems, but ANY of the cheaper vegetable oils consumed in quantity are going to cause problems.
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